Forum - View topicINTEREST: Ace Attorney Localizer Explains Alternate-Universe Los Angeles
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Fedora-san
 Posts: 464 |
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The irony being the localization of the series itself is made up anti-Japanese sentiments and whitewashing, but maybe that's the joke. |
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animefanworried
Posts: 126 |
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Because people are so retarded in general you'd need a 50 page explanatory booklet to understand another culture. God knows people still don't understand the culture in Avatar: The Last Airbender since that's still too Asian... oh wait! |
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mewpudding101
Industry Insider
 Posts: 2206 Location: Tokyo, Japan |
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I had never played the Ace Attorney games till this year. Gyakuten Saiban 123. It has both the English and Japanese options. I keep on Japanese. ^^;
The only thing I think of when I see the English version: 
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rizuchan
 Posts: 975 Location: Kansas |
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The localizer actually references that comic in the full blog post!
Actually, ramen/hamburger plot-related issues aside, I always found Ace Attorney to be a shining example of how localizations should be done, if ever they be done at all. I don't think it would have been nearly as charming if there had to be a footnote every 10 lines explaining the very Japanese-ish jokes. |
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mewpudding101
Industry Insider
Posts: 2206 Location: Tokyo, Japan |
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I really had no idea. That's hilarious! |
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MidoriUma
Posts: 130 |
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You think the viewers are so culturally retarded that they need footnotes explaining everything? This is why localization is such a despised concept. it's unnecessary and patronizing, treating its viewers like xenophobes who would have a mental breakdown if they ever saw a food that wasn't served at McDonalds. |
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EricJ2
 Posts: 4016 |
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Yes, the Japanese references would be confusing, in a universe where trials are conducted without juries, in three days...
(At least Miike's movie version covered that by suggesting it was an alternate near future, and the new trial system had been introduced because of the Robocop-like rise in crime rate.) |
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Animefan16
 Posts: 1014 |
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You cannot expect viewers to google every Japanese reference that is mentioned in the games, do you? It's not bad to not be familiar with pop culture from another country. Sometimes, the only way you can sell something to a foreign audience is by localization. I remember when Adult Swim aired the accurate dub of Super Milk Chan years ago instead of the hysterical Americanized version. Not surprisingly, the accuate dub got terrible ratings and was immediately cancelled. Localization is not a bad thing unless they mess with the main parts that affect the story and characterizations. Sometimes, they make it more enjoyable. |
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animefanworried
Posts: 126 |
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True enough. Expecting everyone to have to endure a dumbing down of the work in question for your own shortcomings is bad though.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (While western made) is rich in Asian culture and yet popular. The dub of Naruto is accurate and very Japanese and is also popular. They are better examples out there certainly, but the point is, people actually are capable of understanding and appreciating another culture. The point of playing a foreign game is, you know, enjoying a game from a country other than your own. If we wanted an American game we'd be buying one. If you intend to license something from another country, have the decency to respect the work. If you think it won't sell, license something else or make your own damn game.
The culture and setting of a work are also part of it and influence many things within it as well going from the culture to the atmosphere present. It can sometimes affect how you see the characters, why they do what they are doing... The jokes are also part of the work. Story and characterization are indeed important but by no means the only two elements that matter. If you start changing stuff as you will it just ends up looking like a new work that's a bad rip-off of the original. Whether or not its more enjoyable is subjective, people generally prefer to see the work as intended and make that decision for themselves. |
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CrownKlown
 Posts: 1762 |
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My issue is that realistically Ace Attorney is probably a series popular with the crowd that already likes Japanese culture and media. So it does come off patronizing, because the fanbase probably would prefer the original release untouched. If this was say a fps shooter or at least a horror game or something I could understand the greater need to localize.
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gloverrandal
Posts: 406 Location: Oita |
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That's really debatable. Reading a fan translation of the games makes more sense to me than the localization does. From what I have seen the game would still need tons of footnotes for me. A lot of the internet memes and pop culture references make no sense to me. Just browsing the TV tropes page alone I see stuff like Monty Python, Twilight, My Little Pony, and other I don't read or watch. They went way overboard with the pop culture jokes and internet memes compared to the Japanese version.
I do not think that is the best example. Adult Swim's fanbase rely on those kind of crude, Family Guy level of parody dub jokes. A straight comedy dub that doesn't have those jokes would obviously do poor. Adult Swim should not be the sample audience we turn to. I also have to point out Japan has no problem with straight dubs of our games and shows. I think we Americans just have a horrible stereotype of being seen as ignorant and xenophobic, and it does make it hard to argue against that when I see cases like this pop up. But that might not be too fair as we do get a lot of anime with faithful dubs . But if these games were aimed at little American kids rather than anime fans it would make sense, though then I question why there's pop culture jokes about movies and shows from over 30 years ago in it. |
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Animefan16
Posts: 1014 |
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Good point about Adult Swim. As for your second point, keep in mind that American pop culture is more well known in Japan than vice-versa. The latest Hollywood blockbuster is more likely to make it to the Japanese box office than the latest Japanese blockbuster in the US box-office. I don't really think it makes Americans look xenophobic if american anime and game companies localize anime or games while the Japanese don't do that with American shows and games. It's just that it doesn't seem very necessary for the Japanese to do so.
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Bonham
 Posts: 419 Location: NYC |
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Petty squabbling about Japanifornia aside, fans of the series really should read the translator's post. It details a lot of fascinating points about the process and origins of a lot of different characters and story ideas in the series (the origin of case of 1-4, the changing roles for Maya, Pearl and Larry, storage space restrictions impacting character models, etc.). As much as I respect Takumi, it really shows how important it is for multiple people to give their input and criticism to refine a product.
I love reading about that stuff! |
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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Astonishing amount of grumpiness in this thread. Foreign-language puns are not funny. This localization was good.
For instance, hamburgers are an excellent substitute for ramen. This is especially in need of localization because English-speakers who recognize the word "ramen" at all will almost certainly be thinking of instant ramen or dried ramen, neither of which are what the game is referring to; instead it means big bowels of the stuff with various ingredients had at a restaurant or street stand, as can be seen in a short comic included in the Japanese instruction manual. Hamburgers works so well because they're simple fare that virtually everyone likes and eats at least occasionally, can be had nearly anywhere, is often done badly but people don't usually mind much, and is really pretty bad for you. Just like big greasy, salty bowels of ramen. This sacrifices an in-joke in Apollo Justice where the actual ramen stand where they were apparently getting their ramen, but that could hardly have been foreseen and isn't very important anyway. |
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whiskeyii
 Posts: 2245 |
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I'd echo previous statements to read the blog post if you're an AA fan. It's good stuff, and a lot of it is very enlightening!
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